Wikipedia

Nestor Binabo

Nestor K. Binabo[3] (d. 29 June 2023) was a Nigerian politician and teacher who briefly served as the acting Governor of Bayelsa State, from January to February 2012. A member of the Peoples Democratic Party, he also served as Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly. After leaving office, he was a member of the All Progressives Congress until his death in 2023.

Nestor Binabo
Binabo in 2012
10th Governor of Bayelsa State (Acting)
In office
27 January 2012 – 14 February 2012
Preceded byTimipre Sylva
Succeeded byHenry Dickson
Speaker of the Bayelsa State Assembly
In office
7 July 2010[1] – 20 February 2012[2]
DeputyFini Angaye[1]
Preceded byWerinipre Seibarugo[1]
Succeeded byKombowei Benson[2]
Personal details
Died29 June 2023
Abuja, Nigeria
Political partyAll Progressives Congress (since 2015)
Other political
affiliations		People's Democratic Party (until 2015)
SpouseMartha Binabo

Political career

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Pre-speakership and early career

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Binabo began his political career in the Sagbama Local Council.[4]

Later, Binabo was elected to the Bayelsa State Assembly, and served as deputy speaker and the State Commissioner of Youths and Conflict Resolution.[5][6][7] He also served as acting speaker.[8]

Speakership (2010–2012)

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Binabo was elected speaker in July 2010, after his predecessor, Werinipre Seibarugo, was appointed deputy governor following the impeachment and removal of Peremobowei Ebebi.[1][9] Binabo himself was initially floated as a candidate for the position.[7][10] During his tenure, he drew controversy for allegedly supporting a plan to fire 500 government workers.[11] In 2011, he was put on trial for allegedly failing to disclose that he was terminated from a position at Rivers State Ministry of Education and forging certificates presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission, which would have disqualified him from public office.[12][13] He was found innocent in October.[12]

Acting governorship (January–February 2012)

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He was made acting Governor of Bayelsa on 27 January 2012, after Timipre Sylva, along with four other governors nationwide, was removed by the Supreme Court.[14][15][16][17][18] During his brief tenure as acting governor, he fired several members of Sylva's cabinet, and threatened legal action against Chevron following a high-profile oil spill.[19][20][21] He left office on 14 February 2012, and was succeeded by Henry Dickson of the People's Democratic Party.[14][17] He subsequently resigned the speakership, citing the fact that both he and Dickson hail from the same senatorial district.[2] He was succeeded by Kombowei Benson.[2]

Post-speakership (2012–present)

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In June 2012, after Benson was impeached and removed from the speakership by a majority of the Assembly, Binabo successfully nominated his own former deputy speaker, Fini Angaye, to fill the vacant slot.[22]

Split from PDP and joining APC (2015)

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He was expelled from the People's Democratic Party in May 2015 due to alleged anti-party activities in the 2015 general election.[23] He, along with several dozen other PDP chieftains, formally defected to the All Progressives Congress in August 2015.[24] In the years since, he took on increasingly anti-PDP political positions.[25][26]

APC years (2015–2023)

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In November 2015, in a speech in Yenagoa, he accused then-governor and former ally Henry Dickson of threatening to assassinate him over a local political rivalry. Dickson and the PDP denied all accusations and characterized them as lies.[4]

As of May 2018, he was the leader of one of the two major factions of the Bayelsa APC. The leader of the other major faction was Timipre Sylva.[27]

He was one of several prominent Bayelsa State APC politicians who endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari's 2019 reelection bid.[28][29]

He died on 29 June 2023.[30] Former president Goodluck Jonathan and governor of Bayelsa State Douye Diri sent their condolences through their spokespersons.[31][32][33][34]

Personal life

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Binabo hailed from Okunbiri, Sagbama.[4][35] Before entering politics, he worked for the Rivers State Ministry of Education as a teacher.[36] He was fired in 1987 for indiscipline, which later became a scandal in his political career.[37]

In March 2008, Binabo's 22-year-old son, Oyeinmomoemi Binabo, was abducted from campus at Niger Delta University. He escaped by running along the banks of the River Nun approximately 24 hours after the initial kidnapping.[6] Several months later, Oyeinmomoemi Binabo was killed in a hit and run car accident.[38]

Binabo's office at the Assembly was burgled in September 2011. Money and several valuables were stolen.[39]

On 29 June 2015, Nestor Binabo's wife, Martha Binabo, was kidnapped from her workplace by unidentified gunmen in military uniforms.[17] She was released, unharmed, in Rivers State on 5 July after a ransom was paid.[40] She was released with a bag of fish and a N18,000 transport fare.[41] Reportedly, the kidnappers told her to prepare pepper soup for her husband with the fish.[41][42]

Binabo survived being physically attacked or assaulted at least three times, including a home invasion resulting in a fatality in 2010.[43][8][44] He died after a lengthy illness on 29 June 2023, in Abuja.[30]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Oyandongha, Samuel (8 July 2010). "Binabo emerges Bayelsa Assembly Speaker". Vanguard. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d "Bayelsa Assembly gets new speaker". Premium TImes. 20 February 2012. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  3. ^ "Lawmaker cautions JTF over civilian casualties". www.pointblanknews.com. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "Dickson, PDP dismiss APC chieftain's death threat claim". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 24 November 2015. Archived from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  5. ^ Online, Tribune (23 July 2019). "Bayelsa political kingmakers: Their rise, fall, revival". Tribune Online. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  6. ^ a b James, Segun (29 March 2008). "Nigeria: Kidnapped Son of Bayelsa Deputy Speaker Escapes". allAfrica. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  7. ^ a b Okhomina, Osa (6 June 2010). "Nigeria: Bayelsa Deputy Speaker, Others Listed for Dep Governor Position". allAfrica.
  8. ^ a b "Bayelsa acting speaker escapes mob attack". Oyibos OnLine. 25 May 2008. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  9. ^ Oyadongha, Samuel (8 July 2010). "Bayelsa speaker, Seibarugu, is new Deputy Governor". Vanguard. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  10. ^ Amaowei, Dadiowei G. (5 July 2010). "Creek Haven: Who Takes The No. 2 Slot?". Pointblanknews.com. Archived from the original on 15 December 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  11. ^ "Group faults Bayelsa Speaker on Sagbama Council Crisis". The Nigerian Voice. 23 August 2011. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  12. ^ a b Oyadongha, Samuel (21 October 2011). "Tribunal upholds Bayelsa Speaker's election". Vanguard. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  13. ^ "Anxiety as Tribunal Fixes Date Against Bayelsa Speaker". The Nigerian Voice. 8 September 2011. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  14. ^ a b Kokobaiye, Abeki; Anyamah, Kelvin Ebinyo (26 September 2016). "Bayelsa State: A Long Walk to Restoration". Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  15. ^ Webmaster (4 February 2012). "Inside lives, political intrigues of 'one-month' governors". Daily Trust. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  16. ^ Oyadongha, Samuel. "Bayelsa timeline". Vanguard. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  17. ^ a b c "Wife of ex Bayelsa gov kidnapped". RipplesNigeria. 30 June 2015. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  18. ^ Okhomina, Osa; Edem, Edem; Baba, Hamzat; Salem, Tordue; Mahmud, Mahmud (30 January 2012). "Nigeria: Crimes Commission to Quiz Sacked Governors". GH Ghana News. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  19. ^ Oyadongha, Samuel (1 February 2012). "Bayelsa Acting Gov sacks Sylva's security adviser". Vanguard. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  20. ^ Abah, Hope (2 February 2012). "Nigeria: Bayelsa Threatens Action Against Chevron". allAfrica.
  21. ^ "Curse of black gold". The Nation. 14 November 2014. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  22. ^ Oyadongha, Samuel (4 June 2012). "Bayelsa Speaker impeached". Vanguard. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  23. ^ "Bayelsa PDP expels nine members, tasks others on discipline". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 28 May 2015. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  24. ^ Webmaster (10 August 2015). "70 PDP chieftains, 500 followers set to join APC in Bayelsa". Daily Trust. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  25. ^ Online, Tribune (30 October 2019). "Guber: I bankrolled Dickson's election with N2bn ― Former Bayelsa Speaker". Tribune Online. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  26. ^ Odiegwu, Mike (16 November 2019). "We can't return to PDP, says ex-Bayelsa acting governor". The Nation. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  27. ^ "Sporadic Gunshots Rock APC LC Congress in Edo, Parallel Congresses in Ondo, Bayelsa, Kogi". The Street Journal. 12 May 2018. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  28. ^ "Bayelsa APC". Punch Newspapers. 4 June 2018. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  29. ^ Ada, Ada (5 June 2018). "Bayelsa APC leaders back Buhari for 2019". DAILY TIMES Nigeria. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  30. ^ a b Ajibola, Soji (29 June 2023). "Ex-Bayelsa acting gov, Binabo, is dead". Tribune Online. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  31. ^ Silas, Don (5 July 2023). "'He'll be sorely missed' - Goodluck Jonathan sad over Binabo's death". Daily Post Nigeria. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  32. ^ Elijah, Ima (5 July 2023). "Goodluck Jonathan mourns the passing of Nestor Binabo". Pulse Nigeria. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  33. ^ Mbah, Okem (30 June 2023). "Diri Mourns Former Bayelsa Acting Gov, Binabo". Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  34. ^ Julius, Osahon (30 June 2023). "Diri mourns Binabo". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  35. ^ "Acting Gov. Binabo Attributes Elevation to God". Bayelsa State Government Portal. 22 April 2012. Archived from the original on 22 April 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  36. ^ Gbemudu, Emma (12 July 2010). "Nigeria: Challenges Before Bayelsa Assembly's New Leadership". allAfrica.
  37. ^ Oyadongha, Samuel (18 August 2011). "Tribunal admits Bayelsa Speaker's alleged sack letter as exhibit". Vanguard. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  38. ^ Oyadongha, Samuel (3 April 2009). "Nigeria: Bayelsa Deputy Speaker's Son Crushed By Hit-And-Run Driver". allAfrica. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  39. ^ "Robbers invade Bayelsa Assembly". Vanguard. 17 September 2011. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  40. ^ Eziukwu, Arodiegwu (6 July 2015). "Kidnapped wife of ex-Bayelsa governor freed". Premium Times. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  41. ^ a b Oyadongha, Samuel (6 July 2015). "Kidnappers release former Bayelsa Speaker's wife, give her N18,000, bag of fish". Vanguard. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  42. ^ "Kidnapped Wife Of Former Bayelsa Governor Freed After Paying Ransom | Sahara Reporters". saharareporters.com. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  43. ^ "Ex-Bayelsa acting gov injured, as assassins storm residence". Punch Newspapers. 9 August 2017. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  44. ^ Oyadongha, Samuel (2 August 2010). "Nigeria: One Feared Dead As Gunmen Attack Bayelsa Speaker's Home". Vanguard.
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